SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICTS 

 AND UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF 

 INTERIOR NEGOTIATE MEMORANDUM OF 

 AGREEMENTS 



The following Montana Soil and Water Conserva- 

 tion Districts have negotiated Memorandums of 

 Agreement with the United States Department of 

 Interior: 



Page 5 



COUNTY BUDGETS DUE 



Upper Musselshell 



Wibaux 



Big Horn County 



Sheridan County 



Hill County 



Mile High 



Little Beaver 



Judith Basin 



•Broadwater County 



Eastern Sanders County 



Big Sandy 



Deer Lodge Valley 

 Dawson County 

 Beaverhead 

 Blaine County 

 Petroleum County 

 Valley County 

 McCone 

 Stillwater 

 Lewis & Clark 

 Glacier County 



The following districts have Memorandums of 

 Agreement being processed: 



Box Elder 

 Cascade County 

 Carbon County 



Garfield County 



Culbertson-Bainville 



Froid 



The Memorandum of Agreement sets forth the 

 basis whereby Districts and the Department may 

 coordinate more effectively their mutual efforts 

 in managing and developing the natural resources 

 within Districts. 



It is the position of the NACD that in areas of 

 intermingled land-ownership — public and private — 

 sound management and development of natural 

 resources requires a coordinated program effort 

 covering all resources in all ownerships. Or, 

 to put it another way, it is our position that in- 

 dependent action on private lands alone, or on 

 public lands alone, cannot be fully effective in 

 situations of intermingled public -private land- 

 ownership. 



A District's long-range program is the tangible 

 basis on which cooperative working agreements 

 can be built between the District and the Depart- 

 ment of the Interior. 



The Department has declared that it will enter 

 into a Memorandum of Agreement with each Soil 

 and Water Conservation District, upon request, 

 as soon as an agency of the Department is ready 

 to assist the District in carrying out its long- 

 range program and objectives. 



New forms DI-440 and DI-441 have been made 

 available to districts who have not and may wish 

 to enter into these agreements. As a oKitter of 

 coordination these agreements should be forwarded 

 via the State Soil Conservation Committee. 



Preliminary budget requests for the next fiscal 

 year should be submitted to County Commissioners 

 by June 10. Soil and Water Conservation Districts 

 desiring County funds and have not already taken 

 care of this request should immediately do so 

 before the final action of the County Commissioners 

 on budget. 



Reference is made to section 76-209, Revised 

 Codes of Montana which was passed at the last 

 legislature which allows county commissioners 

 to levy for district funds. District supervisors 

 are also reminded that a budget, cannot be in- 

 creased more than 5% above the previous year. 



CONSERVATION EDUCATION COURSES 

 TEACHER WORKSHOPS 



All units of the University system of Montana 

 offer a course in "Montana Resources and 

 Conservation" or Workshops in conservation. 

 These courses are for credit. 



While it is not mandatory that teachers take this 

 course, Montana law does require that conserva- 

 tion be taught as a part of and integrated with all 

 other related subjects and courses in the elemen- 

 tary and secondary schools, and that each unit of 

 the greater University of Montana shall make 

 available instruction to all students in teacher pre- 

 paratory courses basic instruction in conservation 

 education. 



Many Soil and Water Conservation Districts con- 

 tinue to offer scholarships to teachers to take 

 these courses. However, there has been a 

 noticeable lack of interest among teachers in 

 recent years. 



***** 



* * * * * 



BIG BUYERS DOWN ON THE FARM 



When farmers buy they buy. Last year, for 

 instance, farmers grossed nearly $40 billion - 

 $35 billion from crops and livestock. They 

 paid nearly $27 billion for everything needed to 

 run their business. 



RAD 



The State Rural Area Development executive 

 committee met in April. Sam Chapman, report- 

 ing for the Manpower subcommittee said that 

 members were enthusiastic, they recognized a 

 need for some statewide planning but did not 

 know the degree of need for vocational technical 

 training. A survey is needed to get the require- 

 ments of industry. A course of procedure is to 

 be determined at the next meeting. 

 Continued Page 6 



